When Juliet Halliday arrives in Boston to bring her newly orphaned nephew, Marcus, home to Maine, she discovers that her late sister, Cordelia, had lived in such poverty that her nine-year-old son had to work to survive. Having struggled to build the North End's biggest fish market after emigrating from Italy, Antonio Santilli had hired Marcus to help the boy and his mother. But when Marcus resorts to stealing and runs away with Antonio's young sister, Antonio wants to see him punished. Suspecting the children have joined a traveling circus, Antonio and Juliet are forced to pursue them together despite their differences. Each misadventure brings out their best and their worst as they survive a grounded steamboat, a carriage accident, and a train wreck. Antonio's emotional strength and uncommon wisdom convince Juliet he is a man worth loving, but she fears her aristocratic father won't approve. Antonio wonders if Juliet can adjust to working-class Boston. Together they must overcome their conflicts so Marcus can have a real family - but first they must find the children.